The National Council on Nutrition has established a Nutrition Financing Subcommittee to develop a funding structure for Nigeria’s nutrition interventions.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who is the chairman of NCN, constituted the committee on Thursday during a virtual council meeting. 

The committee is expected to develop a financing roadmap within 30 days and present it to the NCN and the National Economic Council for review and adoption.

The members of the sub-committee, chaired by health minister Muhammad Pate, include the ministers of education, water resources, women’s affairs, and science and technology. Others are the deputy chief of staff to the president and the senior special assistant to the president on public health, while the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning will serve as the secretariat.

Mr Shettima called for ring-fencing nutrition financing in order to bridge the gap between promises made and lives changed. He directed the involvement of development partners and private investors in the committee, including the Aliko Dangote Foundation.

The vice-president said the council resolved to pursue the National Nutrition Bill with urgency. He acknowledged the strategic importance of the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0 Project in addressing urgent service delivery gaps in high-burden states.

Mr Shettima encouraged state governors to fast-track the necessary actions at the state level to ensure timely implementation and effective utilisation of the available resources.

The vice president observed that the sub-national voices, leadership, and participation must be fully integrated into planning, decision-making, and programme delivery.

Mr Shettima said there must be clarity on how funds are budgeted, released, ring-fenced, and tracked, as well as how every naira is accounted for across ministries, departments, agencies, and states.

Mr Shettima acknowledged that the burden of dismantling the maladies hindering Nigeria’s quest for a well-nourished nation is on the council.

Mr Shettima asked former legislators to mobilise their colleagues to ensure the bill sees the light of day.

The chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara, reiterated governors’ commitment and support for all nutrition-focused projects at all levels in the country.

Education minister Tunji Alausa recommended the creation of a sustainable funding structure to support the federal government’s nutrition drive.

The council received an updated report on the national nutrition budgeting outlook, which highlighted progress made and funding gaps across MDAs and sub-national levels.
The reports identified key priority areas, including sustained exploration of reform initiatives across all levels of government and the consolidation of the national-scale-up in nutrition, as enshrined in the ANRiN 2.0 programme.

The council was informed that the State Council on Nutrition had been inaugurated in nine states, namely Abia, Adamawa, Borno, Cross River, Jigawa, Plateau, Rivers, Yobe, and Zamfara, with more underway. 

(NAN)